Thigh guard



- Nov. 16 1926.

w. P. wHn'LEY THIGH GUARD Filed Jan. 7. 1925 IIIIIIL /NVEN roR WILL/AM P. Wl-I/Z'LE).

A TIORIYEY tively holding.

Patented Nov. 16, 192 6 ILLrAIu '1 WHITLEY, on ST.

* aot an "FACTURING ooMmny; or s'r. incurs, iurssouai, a'oonroaarrou or- M ssouri:

' '7 Y iH G GU --Application filed" January This invention relates to guards and protecting devices such as are used by football players, baseball players and other athletes for "protecting a portion ofthe wearers body'from'injuryh; V V

.- The main object of the invention is to provide a guard orxfprotectingdevice that is comfortable to the user or wearer, notwithstanding the fact that the portion of the-guard which affords protection to: the wearer consists" of a substantially stiif or rigid elemenu :7 a

.Another-object isto provide anathletic guard of the type that comprises. a stiff 'or substantially rigid protecting element which is equipped witha novel meansfor effecsaid element spaced away from the portion, of the usens body which it is designed to protect and for absorbing a shock produced ing element;

My invention is guards, shin guards, shoulder guards and various other kinds of-athletic guards that are adapted to be positionedin a pocket in a garment, laced to a garment or attached directly to the portion of the wearers body which it is designed to protect, and while I have herein illustrated my invention em bodied in a thigh guard of the type that adapted to be arranged in a pocket on the inside of the leg of a pair of foatball pants, 1

I wish it to be understood that the particular purpose for which the guard is used, the v particular shape of the protecting element of the guard and the particular means used for holdingthe guard in operative relationship with the part to 'be protected, are .immaterial, so far as my invention is concerned. I

Figure l of thedrawings is a rear eleVational view of a thigh guard constructed in, accordance with my invention.

'Figure 2 is a transverse sectional View,

taken on the line2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line 3+3-of Figure 1.

In'the drawings A designates the protecting element of'the guard which is preferably bowed or curved slightly in transverse cross section and formed either from a piece of fibre'or other hard material or from a stiff, molded substance,

of heavy felt or other suitable material armember on the rear m ent spaced awa applicable to thigh,

B designates pads" 7, 1925; Serial No. L005.

the element A and secured to same in any.

suitable mannenas, forexamplc, by stitches Land O designates a'transversel wearers body that-is to be protected and to side of'the'element A, whose principal function is tohold-said ele y from 1 the part of the Louis, MISSOURI, iA'ssI GNoii' i0. RAiiifLinas Iirriiiuy-disposed U forina 'CllShlOI1 tl llt absorbs a shock produced by a blow on the protecting element A. 'If the element A is formed of libre or other'hard materialthat is capable of being flexed slightly so as toproduce aprotecting element that is bowed or slightly curved, the

member C also tends to, holdv the. protecting element Al in a bowedi-or. as; shown 111 Figure 2. formed from p ece-l I curved'cond-ition, The: member j C I -of1 1fa'br1c =that 1s stretched taut transversely of the protecting element A and secured at its ends to'the side portions of said protecting elementfin any suitable way, as, for example, by the stitches 1 that secure the side pads B to the element A. Preferably the member from a pieceof non-elastic webbing that is Wide enoughto form a bearing piece on the rear side of the guard whose area is suflicient to effectively hold the protecting element A in substantially parallel relation to and spaced away from thepartof thewearers body that is to vbe protected. I

Due to the fact that the member C is formed of webbing orrubthe part of the wea-rers body which it is desired to protect, and as" it has a certain amount of resiliency or flexibility, it

will give or yield slightly when the protectmg element A is subjected to a blow and I thus in effect absorb the shock on said element. In order to make the guard more comfortable to thewearer, the transverselydisposed member 0 is held in a slightly bowed condition so as'to make it conform part of the wearer-3s body protected by the guard- 7 If, for ex the guard is to be used for protect-- approximately to the ample, ing the h 0 diate its ends so that it will proximately to the curvature thigh. Various means can be thigh of a football player, the mem'- of the users used to. hold the member C in its slightly bowed or curved condition," but one means that I have found to be very eflicient consists of a strip C is formed or fabric, it willknotpcut is bowed forwardlyslightly intermeconform ap- D of webbing or other suitable fabric stretched longitudinally of the protecting 'elementA on the. rear side of same and arranged so that it crosses the member 0, as

shown in Figure 1, and thus exerts pressure on the member 0 in a'direction'to hold it in a bowed condition, the ends'of said strip D being secured to the upper and lower ends,

of the protecting element A in any preferred manner as, for example, by the stitches 1 that secure the end pads to the element A. V 1 v U d An athletic" guard of .the construction abovedescribed'is light in weight; it is in expensive to manufacture and it effectively protects the portion of thewearers body over which it is arranged without liability of causing same to be cut or injured by contact with the means on the rear side of the guard thatholds the rigid protecting element of the guard outiot contact with the wearers body. 1 V i Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z l Y 1. An athletic guard composed of a curved protecting element formed froma substantially rigid and inflexible hard ma terial, a fabric member permanently secured to the rear side of said element and stretched taut. transversely of the curved portion of said element so astohold said element spaced away fromthe part of the, wearers body which the guard protects, and a longitudinally-disposed strip arranged crosswise of said transversely-disposed fabric memberand connected to said protecting element for holding said transverse member ina bowed condition 'l or the purpose de' scribed.

An athletic. guard composed of a curved protecting element formed from a 'piece of substantially rigid and 'einfiexible fibre, pads secured to the marginal edge portion of said element by stitches, ai -wide piece of non-elasticwebbing stretched taut trans- V versely of the. rear side of saidelement and secured to the side edge portions of same by the stitches that connect the side pads to said element, and a longitudinally disposed strip of webblng arranged crosswise of said wide webbing so as to hold same in a bowed conditions and having its ends secured ,to

the end portions of said protecting element by the stitchesthat fasten the end pads t said element i WILLIAM F. WHITLEY i 

